In the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt against former president Donald Trump has sparked a strong response from both sides of the political aisle. Most recently, a Democratic lawmaker has proposed legislation to eliminate the founding mission of the Secret Service.
New York Rep. Ritchie Torres has introduced a bill which, though not the first time to be suggested, has gained bipartisan support since the July 13 shooting at the Butler, Pennsylvania rally. He has proposed that the Secret Service abandon its founding mission of investigating crimes related to money and instead reduce their work to only providing protection for politicians.
The bill—called the Focus on Protection Act—would “transfer” the “jurisdiction” to investigate financial crimes to the Treasury Department, rather than leave it as a responsibility of the Secret Service. It would mandate that every asset and individual involved in the current set-up of the financial crimes investigation pass all information and resources along in a 180-day period.
The bill would be designed to “enhance efficiency” while probing financial crimes and enable the Secret Service to better home in on “its core mission” of providing security for politicians, their families, and high-profile foreign visitors. Torres introduced the bill alongside fellow New York Rep. Mike Lawler, a Republican, with the intention of boosting security for Trump, President Joe Biden, and independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
At the end of July—less than two weeks after Trump sustained an ear injury rather than a fatal shot to the brain—the House of Representatives cast a majority vote to launch a task force made of both political parties to investigate the assassination attempt. The effort was announced by the House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and House Speaker Mike Johnson.
Seven Republicans and six Democrats were selected by the two House leaders. GOP Rep. Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania will serve as the chairman and Democratic Rep. Jason Crow of Colorado is a ranking member. As described in a release announcing the members, the group is seeking to learn “what went wrong” on July 13, “ensure accountability,” and “prevent” the same mistake from occurring in the future.
The task force is scheduled to submit its final report on what it uncovers by December 13, 2024.
